Page 43: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (March 2006)

March 2006 43

Moose Delivers Security Boat

Moose Boats has deliv- ered another Moose M2- 37 security and patrol vessel to the Suisun Bay

Reserve Fleet, Benicia,

Calif. This is the second delivery of a two-boat contract that was awarded through GSA (General

Services Administration) by the Department of

Transportation, Maritime

Administration (MarAd).

The Suisun Bay Fleet consists of dry cargo ships, tankers, military auxiliaries and other types of reserve ships in the custody of the

Maritime Administration. The Moose M2-37s will be used intensively for security patrol operations up to 16- hours-a-day, seven days per week in the Suisun Bay.

The Moose M2-37 is a 37.5-ft. all-aluminum jet pow- ered catamaran with twin Cummins 380 hp turbo diesels and is propelled by Hamilton 292 water jets. It can attain a top speed of over 34 knots, cruise at almost 30 knots, and come to a full-speed stop in less than two boat lengths. Its 21-in. draft allows all of this to be done in less than three ft. of water.

Circle 17 on Reader Service Card

Jumbo Cat Ferry Features Six

Waterjets

The 223-ft. (68 m) catamaran Maria Dolores will soon go into service with Malta-based Virtu Ferries on the company's Malta - Italy route. The vessel will run at a speed of about 36 knots with the engines running at 90 percent of full load, linking Valetta with Catania in three hours, with Pozallo in 90 minutes and provide a service to the Italian mainland at Reggio Calabria in four hours. Maria Dolores was designed and built by

Austal in Western Australia, to suit the owner's require- ment for a fast ferry capable of carrying trailers, coach- es and other high vehicles together with cars and 600 passengers. Virtu Ferries wished to maintain engine compatibility with its existing fleet, and it was not easy to supply the power requirement with a conventional quadruple engine layout. A six-jet solution has there- fore been developed, with three engines in each hull, all connected to individual Kamewa 80 S II series waterjets from Rolls-Royce through reduction gears, in what is thought to be the first six waterjet installation on a fast ferry. Power per unit is 2,465 kW.

To find space for three waterjets in the transom of a slim catamaran hull involved some interesting engi- neering of the intakes and drivelines. Two steerable and reversible water jets are installed side by side in each hull and a booster jet without steering is placed above and between the steerable units.

The lower jets are driven by two engines in the forward engine room, while the upper booster jet is coupled to an engine in the aft engine room which is raised to to give the correct dri- veline height.

Circle 18 on Reader Service Card

Wärtsilä Power for Geo Vessel

The new offshore support vessel of Aker

ROV 06 design will be equipped with Wärtsilä main engines. Wärtsilä won the $3.2 million contract in November 2005 from Aker Yards

ASA to supply main engines for the new off- shore support vessel contracted by the

Norwegian subsea operations company Geo

ASA. The vessel will be constructed at Aker

Yards' Søviknes shipyard in Norway, with delivery due in May 2007. Its main engines will be four six-cylinder Wärtsilä 32 diesel engines with a combined output of 11,520 kW at 720 rpm. Of the Aker ROV 06 design, the vessel will be employed in subsea operations, primarily for the offshore oil & gas industry. It will be capable of worldwide operation, includ- ing the northern oceans. The vessel will princi- pally serve as a mothership for unmanned remotely-operated subsea (ROV) vehicles which can be launched by crane over both sides of the vessel as well as through a moon pool.

Geo ASA carries out subsea operations in three main fields: seabed mapping of topogra- phy and other levels of sediments; inspection, maintenance and repair of offshore installa- tions; and offshore construction support with

ROV. Geo ASA is a subsidiary of DOF ASA, a major owner and operator of offshore vessels.

Circle 19 on Reader Service Card

Keel-Laying of Third T-AKE

General Dynamics NASSCO on February 14, 2006, held the keel-laying ceremony for USNS

Alan Shepard, the third ship in the U.S. Navy's

T-AKE program. Designated the Lewis and

Clark class, the new T-AKE ships fulfill com- bat logistics force requirements.

U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Carol M. Pottenger,

Commander, Military Sealift Fleet Support

Command, was the honoree for the event, welding her initials into the keel to signify the beginning of full- scale production of the new ship. "We are very pleased that Rear Admiral Pottenger was able to participate in this ceremony," said Fred

Harris, president of NASSCO. "It is an honor that a ship we will build under her command will bear her initials throughout its many decades of service."

Circle 222 on Reader Service Card

Moose Boat Specs

Length, o.a. 37.5 ft.

Beam 13.5 ft.

Draft hull/max. 21 in.

Deadrise 15°

Displacement 16,000 lbs. (dry)

Fuel 300 gal.

Water 20 gal.

Maximum speed 34 knots +

Cruise speed 28 knots

Range 300 nm

Main engines 2 x Cummins QSB5.9, 380hp Turbo Diesels

Waterjets 2 x Hamilton HJ292

Marine Gears Twin Disc MG 5075

Generator 5kw Northern Lights

Electronics Simrad

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